flash forward
by CharcoalPaint
Summary: Drabbles having fun with the phantom stallion universe and the couple I've been shipping since I first read the books at age 9, because I'm allergic to writing longfic. Sake (Sam/Jake) ch 1-5 beta'd and reuploaded
1. silence

**A/N pt1 for the newbies: hello and welcome to my little collection of stories! these are mostly because i am allergic to writing anything longer than about 3k at a whack and i lose my tain of thought because hellooo attention span. oh, it's gone.**

 **A/N pt2 to old readers: i went through and, with the help of the mysterious Green, beta'd the CRAP out of these. you won't notice it so much in this chapter, but Dependence is like... triple the size? and completely different so have fun!**

 **SILENCE**

Jacob Ely, Sam had learned, enjoyed simple peace and quiet. Oh, he could be just as rambunctious and silly as any other sixteen year old boy, and he delighted in the constant noise and bustle of his large family - something Sam thought might simply come with being the youngest of seven rowdy boys - but, most days, Jake was content to simply say nothing. While most would blame his cowboy upbringing for his stoic, one-word answers and aversion to feelings, Sam knew it was simply Jake attempting to revel in the silence.


	2. embarrassment

**A/N: i realized that, yet again, i forgot the disclaimer in the first chapter. soz.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or any of the characters within. They all belong to the lovely Terri Farley.**

 **EMBARRASSMENT**

Sipping a cup of coffee as he stood by the kitchen window, Wyatt watched Sam and Jake bicker about something, though he had no clue what it could be. After so many years of watching the two, he could (with almost one hundred percent accuracy) clock exactly when Jake would say something to annoy Sam and he also knew what Sam's default response would be in the face of her older friend's teasing.

Sure enough, Jake must have said something as he strode ahead of Sam, because Wyatt saw his daughter's face take on the red flush of one that had been truly irked and her hands shoot to her skinny hips in indignation. She hollers something he can't make out and Jake's triumphant grin quickly turns to an ugly scowl as he spins and stomps back to the redheaded girl.

Without any sort of warning, Jake stoops down and hauls Sam over his shoulder much like Wyatt had done the day before with a sack of grain. His daughter yells and kicks, pounding on the older boy's back. Jake must say something to her as he walks, because Sam's struggles quickly become more frantic, but her friend seems to ignore her as he stomps towards the horse trough.

Sam's screech as she is dumped unceremoniously into the chilled water of the trough is clearly audible inside the house and Wyatt chuckles once she had surfaces, sputtering and angry as a wet cat. Jake grins and leans down into her space and Wyatt can _see_ the mischievous gleam in his daughter's eyes.

Lightning fast, Sam's arms shoot out and, before he can do anything about it, she hauls Jake into the water. Off balance as he is, the tall teen goes over easily and Sam's beam when he rights himself is distinctly victorious. Jake slicks the hair back out of his face, it having come loose, and aims a forceful splash at Sam, who speedily retaliates.

For a few minutes the two attempt to dunk each other even though they barely fit inside the thing, side by side as they are, but a truce is eventually called and both parties, soaking wet and laughing, exit the trough, though Jake has a distinctly embarrassed look about him.


	3. prosper

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or any of its characters. Those all belong to the lovely Terri Farley.**

 **PROSPER**

When the little chestnut filly is brought in, she's a mess. Sam knows it, Wyatt knows it, Jake knows it. Hell, Linc Slocum knows it and he doesn't even lay eyes on the poor thing until weeks after she's been brought to River Bend Ranch. Even then, he can't help but comment on what a sorry sight the creature was, and he hardly knows anything about horses at all.

She's an older yearling, nearly two by the looks of her, but still gangly enough that it's obvious she was a baby not long ago. Her hooves, dainty little things that they are, are so overgrown that she limps with each step she takes. The flaxen mane and tail are long and matted, thick with burrs and other debris, and her coat is so choked with dirt, dust, and sweat that it's gone a dark, muddy brown. It doesn't fully hide her true coloring, though, and whenever she trots into direct sunlight, tiny patches of her gleaming chestnut coat peek out from the caked-on mud, hinting at the phenomenal beauty she would be once she was cleaned up. That doesn't even touch on her attitude; she's a nervous, terrified mess and nothing sets her off quicker than men, though her bias seems to rely heavily on facial hair. Already, Sam notices that when she's scared, it isn't uncommon for the filly to rear, kick, bite, and attempt to run away even though she's been confined to a round pen for the time being.

"She's a neglect case," Brynna explained to Sam later, after the filly had finally settled herself. "The owners adopted her a little less than a year ago and had never had a horse before. She wasn't gentled, well, _gently_ at all. We know for sure that the husband would coax her over to force a halter on her, but if she didn't respond the way he wanted, he would get… _violent_. And, even if she did try to do as he asked, he would use something, a whip we think, to 'move her along.' You can see, in some places, where she was obviously beaten. BLM was notified by a concerned neighbor and she was seized a few days ago. When they got there she was outside in the heat with no shelter, food, or accessible water."

"That's terrible." Sam's voice was thick, and she only just managed to force away the burn of tears from the backs of her eyes. "She's gonna prosper here, I know it."


	4. dialect

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or its characters. They all belong to the lovely Terri Farley.**

 **DIALECT**

Sam and Jake are standing on the boards of the round pen, peering over the top to watch the filly that had been brought to River Bend only a few days before. She's angled herself so she can keep an eye on them and stands across the pen, quietly drinking from the full water trough and lazily flicking her tail at the flies that are settling on her back. Every once in a while, one gleaming copper ear will flick towards the two teenagers in interest, but she doesn't make any other move. A small tree, barely more than a sapling but already tall and thick with leaves (and not much older than the filly herself) grows outside the pen. The green canopy, low as it is, shields her from the worst of the sun, casting a dappled pattern of sunlight and shade onto her newly washed coat.

"She looks better," Jake says, voice steady and quiet, so as not to spook the peacefully drinking horse. Sam nods.

"They had to sedate her a lot, but the farrier came and cleaned up her feet so she can at least walk without pain. The vet said her legs are fine, even though no one knows how long she'd been hobbling around on those overgrown feet, and she doesn't have anything else wrong, physically, except for being a little underweight," Sam explains. The filly's head perks up at the sound of Sam's voice and, for a second, Sam thinks that she might come over to investigate but she stays put in the end, wisely choosing to avoid the humans she can't distinguish from the ones who had caused her such suffering in the past.

"Name her yet?" Jake asks, giving Sam a look out of the corner of his eye. Sam nods in affirmation, and it almost makes ever-stoic Jake crack a little grin at how determined this girl is.

"Phoenix. Gram suggested it and it's perfect, really. She's gonna rise from the ashes." Sam's firm voice might have shocked Jake once, but he'd learned that if there was one thing Sam was good at, it was standing up for those who can't do it themselves. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Jake has an inkling that this particular mustang won't be making her way to another home once she's fully rehabilitated, through the HARP program or otherwise - the younger teen already has too much of an attachment to the abused little filly.

"Gonna have to learn a whole new dialect to work with this one, brat. She's not gonna be easy," Jake warns, but Sam just smiles softly as she watches Phoenix. The filly has lifted her dripping muzzle from the water and is gazing at Sam with interest, her delicate ears tipped forward and her head up in blatant curiosity.

"She'll be worth it, Jake. Watch, you'll see."


	5. dependence

**A/N: told you this one turned into a monster.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or any of its characters. They all belong to the lovely Terri Farley.**

 **DEPENDENCE**

If there is anything in the world that Jacob Ely knows, it's that he has an unhealthy dependence on Samantha Forster. It had been the most prevalent force in his life from the time he was only three, chubby cheeked and bright eyed, when Wyatt Forster had laid his baby daughter into Jake's arms.

She'd been a petite little thing, he remembers fondly, with a wrinkled, pink face and a thick crop of red hair atop her head. There had been no cries when he'd held her (assisted, of course, by his mother and a well worn pillow that had lived on the Forster couch for as long as he could remember). Sam had simply slept on as he took in her delicate features, his small golden-brown fingers tentatively stroking at her tiny hand, her pale little fist a stark contrast to his own.

The memory of that day makes Jake grin a little bit to himself. He's walking back up to the house, the family's ever-faithful german shepherd, Gal, trotting alongside him, tongue lolling out of her mouth and her tail wagging cheerfully. She isn't the most typical farmdog, not like the Forster's border collie, Blaze, but she's a good dog and they've had her for almost five and a half years. She'd been a lively two-year-old when Sam's accident had happened. The thought of that day makes Jake shudder involuntarily.

Sam had been so small, only just turned eleven, but had known Jake so long that she knew how to get him to cave quickly, and she'd wanted to take Blackie out on the range so badly. He hadn't been able to tell her no, not with those wide, pleading blue eyes aimed right at him. Confronted with that, Jake had folded like a deck of cards. Oh, he'd given her stipulations: the horse would be ridden bareback, they wouldn't take him too far, and they'd use a soft bridle for him. And she'd done it all.

They had stolen one of her old nightgowns and torn and tied it until it was a rudimentary bridle and off they'd gone. And, for a short while, they had been wonderful. Blackie was perfect and responded to all of Sam's cues like he'd been ridden for years instead of a couple of months. It was obvious the colt trusted Sam explicitly not to lead him into danger and, at the time, it had been an amazing thing to witness. So, of course, it had all gone downhill. All because of that stupid gate.

He'd told her to go on through because she'd said something to annoy him - now, so many years later, he couldn't even remember what it was that she'd said that had annoyed him so much. But he'd told her to take Blackie through the gate first and, by God, she'd tried. Blackie hadn't been sure, but he trusted that Sam wouldn't, _couldn't_ , lead him astray, so he'd gone on through.

Jake remembers the way Sam's skinny arm shook as she held the gate. It had been a windy day and the wind had been pushing back against the gate, and she'd turned terrified eyes to him, begged him for help, but he'd been so angry he hadn't helped her. That had been when everything had fallen apart.

She lost her grip on the gate, and it went slamming into poor Blackie's side and the colt had reared, slim black forelegs pawing, and the moment he'd come back to the ground, he'd bolted. Jake can still remember the abject horror on Sam's face as Blackie had galloped past him. He remembers watching her reach down for the rein she'd dropped and he remembers the moment that she'd lost her balance, in a misguided attempt to snatch it back up.

Later on, he'll acknowledge that it wasn't the horse's fault. Blackie had no clue what was going on, he was just running away from the thing that had hurt and scared him and Sam had been along for the ride, quite literally. But the moment Jake saw Sam slip to the side and heard the deafening _crack!_ of hoof meeting skull, that hadn't mattered. All Jake had been able to think, was that this was all his fault.

It's that memory that taints his breakfast. Jake can't stomach more than a few bites of his mother's homemade waffles and he flips Quill off behind his mom's back when she turns back to the stove. It's justified, he thinks, because Quill's been kicking him under the table ever since the pair of them had sat down, like he used to when they were both much younger, and Jake actually snorts when his mother turns around and catches Quill reciprocating. It brightens Jake's mood considerably and he bounds away from the table with the memory of _that day_ pushed firmly to the back of his mind.

He's on his way to the Forster's atop Witch, who is hemming and hawing at the bit for him to just let her run and, once they've reached the flats, he gives her her head and she's off. She's a freight train, his horse, and her long strides eat up the ground quicker than he thought. He pulls her to a lope, then a trot, and she snorts, annoyed, but does as he asks.

It's just a glance, but when Jake catches sight of Arroyo Azul, he can't help but remember the second time he'd almost lost Sam. Or, at least, the second most memorable time he'd almost lost her.

He'd been sent off to look for her, as she hadn't been where she had told her Gram she'd be, and it had fallen to Jake to find her. And, as a tracker, he had been rather pleased that _he'd_ been the first one they'd thought of to find the wayward Forster girl.

It had been a surprise to him when Strawberry, the pretty red-roan Sam used on occasion, had barrelled around a corner and come nose to nose with Witch. Witch, of course, had been seven different kinds of upset that Strawberry was so close and the fact that Jake had staved off a fight had been something of a miracle. He'd caught her easily, in the end, the horse simply too worn out from her frantic run to try to fight him, and he remembers clearly saying aloud,

"Now, why isn't Sam with you?"

It turned out, being tackled by a starving cougar was a surefire way to come off a horse. Or so Jake learned later.

He'd been riding for at least another fifteen minutes, bellowing for Sam, and she'd just popped out of nowhere, it had seemed. One moment, Jake was looking at rocky cliffside and the next Sam was standing there, a dreamy look on her face and the tiniest bit of stuffing peeping out over her shoulder from her parka. And then, as if nothing had happened and he hadn't just been out scouring the countryside for her, Sam had hopped onto Strawberry's back and started off towards home. Jake remembers sitting there, frozen and gaping, staring at her retreating back and the torn mess that was the back of her parka.

Later, he was informed that Sam's back was black-and-blue because she'd hit the ground so hard and that she was struggling to lift her arms above a certain height because she was so sore and aching. That Monday at school, he'd even caught sight of Jen Kenworthy carrying Sam's backpack and the sheepish look Sam was giving the blond girl.

Jake shakes his head. Now, so many years later, it's a bit amusing that Sam was able to get herself into such a mess. But that was Sam. Always right in the thick of everything and unashamed of it.

River Bend Ranch is a welcome sight, and Jake reflexively smiles just the tiniest bit as he crosses the bridge, catching sight of Sam up on the boards of the corral, talking to Phoenix. From where he's at, Jake can't see the filly, but he can't help but wonder if maybe Phoenix will become just as dependent on Sam as he is; it's no secret to him that the lanky horse is quite interested in Sam and he can only hope that this mustang doesn't pull a Blackie.

Jake doesn't know how many more near-death experiences he can take.

 **So, I added this little tidbit from when we were mid-beta and my internet went out. i thought it'd be amusing.**

CP: So my internet is now completely down. I'm on my phone.

GC: Oh my. What shall we do?

CP: I mean. We can do it this way? It still works, it just a tiny bit more labor intensive.

GC: Mmm ok. It's just this one more chapter tonight anyway. We can start work on the other things you wanted tomorrow?

CP: Sure! Though hopefully my internet will pop back on and we can start on them still tonight but I'm not hopeful. I think my internet updates at this time usually, but it doesn't usually take so long so. Idk.

GC: Well if it is an update, that's encouraging. Means it will eventually finish and right itself.

Once it finishes rendering, of course.

CP: I'd go unhook the router but it's in my parents room and just. No. Not worth it

GC: Yeah. it's 4 am and they'd wake up and freak out, most likely. My mom just came in and asked if i didn't want to go to bed yet and i was like um nope, very busy :) they don't know what i do.

CP: Lool. Mkay lets get to this betaing and HOPE that my internet decides it wants to come back on.

GC: I will hope with all my might xD and lets leave this bit here for now- it's kinda funny

CP: MY INTERNET IS BACK IT JUST POOFED ON GREEN YOURE MAGICAL

GC: OMG THE HOPING WORKED

I AM? WELL HOW ABOUT THAT THEN XD

CP: And now im back on my laptop. :DDD

GC: Get back on pinto?

It's easier

CP: Yeah im logging in rn

GC: K


	6. attraction

**A/N: you'll notice that not only is this chapter longer, but it's a little more well-written. it's because i forced one of my friends, Green, to beta for me. thankfully, she's a sweetheart and elected to help me beat, not only this chapter, but the others into submission. those will be updated throughout the week as we get to them, so be on the lookout!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom Stallion or any of its characters. Those all belong to Terri Farley, I'm just respectfully borrowing them. Don't sue me, I'm a broke college student with nothing but some books and a grouchy dog.**

 **ATTRACTION**

 _Sam_

Sam didn't know when it had really started, but one day she couldn't help but notice how incredibly handsome her best friend had become. Or, she mused later on, once she was alone and able to think things through more logically, maybe he'd always been good-looking and she'd just never noticed? She didn't know how she could have missed it; it wasn't like Jake had just become undeniably attractive one day out of the blue, but she couldn't come up with any other rational explanation as to what had so suddenly brought about the changes she'd noticed recently.

But the day it hit her, or rather, jumped up and smacked her in the face was, for all intents and purposes, a normal day. The ever-present Arizona sun shone hot overhead and a cool breeze had kicked up from the east earlier that day, carrying the comforting scent of horses and the gentle clucking of Gram's chickens across the ranch yard. Having just finished her usual morning chores, Sam walks back up towards the house, cheerfully humming a song she heard on the radio earlier that week and completely oblivious to anything around her. A sudden noise from off to her left makes Sam turn her head. Coming over the bridge are Jake and Witch, same as always, but today… today, something is different.

Jake looks just as he usually does - blue jeans and a flannel shirt, hair pulled back and black Stetson perched on his head. For some reason, though, Sam can't help but fixate on the muscles in his forearms as he guides Witch closer, or the way his white smile brightens the entirety of his face like the sun coming out after three days of rain. His cheekbones seem higher, his entire face just slightly more angular in a way that Sam's never taken notice of before. For some reason, something in her belly flutters as if there's a little bird trapped inside and she presses a hand there in an attempt to stop it from escaping.

He's talking to her now, she can see his mouth moving as he props his arm on the front of the saddle, leaning down closer as if he thinks the light breeze has snatched his words away, but despite all of his efforts she still can't _hear him_. It takes him a full minute to realize she's been completely dumbfounded, but he takes it in stride the way he does just about everything.

"Brat? You alright?" Jake calls, his deep voice thick with amusement, and the sound of that ever familiar nickname shocks her from her trance, restoring her hearing in a rush of sound. She can feel the heat of her blush flooding her face and she just _knows_ her ears have gone bright cherry red, the way they always do when she's especially embarrassed.

"I'm fine," Sam mumbles, and a little frown momentarily crosses Jake's face before he decides she's being honest and puts it completely out of his mind, continuing the conversation. Sam listens intently this time and shoves her feelings way, way, _way_ down. Because, as much as it makes sense, (and honestly, who isn't just a little bit in love with him?), there is absolutely no way she's attracted to Jake Ely.

 _Jake_

The day Jake realizes he's attracted to Sam, it feels like a metal baseball bat has whacked him across the back of his head. He's always known she was pretty, of course, but in a sort of abstract way - it was something that he had never really thought too hard upon. It was just one of those things that just _were_ ; the sky was blue, he had six older brothers, he went to Darton High, and Sam was pretty.

They're out for a ride, as is their usual routine during summer, but it's one of those rare occasions when Sam isn't riding Ace (who had a minor but unfortunate run-in with some barbed wire a few days previously). Instead, she's brought Popcorn to give him some much-needed exercise, and if she finds it strange to ride the taller horse she doesn't say anything about it. It's obvious that the albino mustang is greatly enjoying the chance to get out and stretch his legs as well, frisking about as if he's a young colt and not a fully-grown gelding, though Sam is gentle and firm and expertly keeps him under control.

Sam's just turned around in the saddle, having ridden slightly ahead of him in an attempt to jeer him into one of their infamous races, when he is suddenly struck by the fact that, somehow, in the last few years, Sam has gone from simply pretty to downright gorgeous.

Her blue eyes are bright with mischief, sparkling in a way he knows they've always done but he's never noticed how they brighten her face before now, and her auburn hair, grown out since the hack-job she'd done on it when she was barely fourteen and just coming home from her time away in San Francisco, is rippling in the wind. She's still _Sam_ ; short, spunky, animal-loving, self-sacrificing Sam, who's been his best friend practically since the day she was born, but somehow… somehow, now she's this _woman_ and he doesn't know when it happened but he isn't so sure he's upset about it.

"Jake, are you ignoring me?" Sam teases playfully. Hearing the laughter in her bright voice shakes Jake out of his stupor, only to realize he's pulled Witch to a stop and is currently gaping at Sam as if he's never seen her before. Thankfully, Witch is well-trained enough that she doesn't seem to mind her rider's temporary bout of insanity and stands placidly waiting for a signal to move.

"Course not," he replies, though he knows his voice is a little bit too stiff, too emotionless, because she gives him a confused frown in response. If he's being honest with himself, he thinks he sounds fairly coherent, considering he's been thrown the biggest curveball in his life so far.

Without thinking about it any more, and resolutely shoving his realization to the back of his mind to contemplate later, Jake urges Witch into a gallop before Sam has time to mention how odd he'd sounded. Her cry of outrage makes him grin to himself, and think that maybe being attracted to Sam isn't all that bad.


End file.
